Emperor and artist in nature

Crowned and creative heads in the park

Emperor Francis I goes on a curative retreat to Baden in 1796. He likes it so much that from that time on he comes back nearly every summer, making the small town to the south of Vienna the social centre of the monarchy on a regular basis.

It is not only many members of the Imperial Family that spend July and August here. The nobility, large sections of the wealthy middle cases and also artists of international renown follow suit.

For instance Ludwig van Beethoven, who first comes to Baden in 1803, seeking relief from a range of physical complaints from the sulphuric springs at the baths. A station of the themed walk is dedicated to the famous composer. After all, it was in Baden that Beethoven composed important sections of his “Eroica”, “Pastoral”, “Missa solemnis” and his 9th Symphony, the choral part of which is played as the hymn of a united Europe throughout the entire continent.

Discover Beethoven’s portrait, relaxing and recuperating in the park with Archduke Rudolph. Rudolph is Cardinal and Emperor Francis I’s youngest brother. He is not only Beethoven’s pupil but an important patron and sponsor.

Another artist is strolling through the park – the court actress Katharina Schratt, accompanied by none other than Emperor Franz Joseph I. Empress Elisabeth, Franz Joseph’s wife, stands further off, casting no more than a fleeting glance upon the pair. For it is said that Empress Elisabeth not only condoned her husband’s relationship with Katharina Schratt, but encouraged it.

Emperor Franz Joseph is supposed not only to have prized Katharina Schratt’s company but her cooking too, in particular her Guglhupf cake. The recipe came from Schratt’s mother of the same name, whose cookbook is on display in Baden’s Rollett Museum today.

Image: Emperor Franz Joseph I (Lithograph portrait from 1880) and court actress Katharina Schratt (Photograph portrait, also from 1880) © Public domain